All about Linux – tutorials, videos & downloads

Linux is an operating system that was created between 1991 to 1994 by Linus Torvalds. In simple terms, it is a layer between hardware and software and allows software to talk to the hardware. Linux is not a derivative of Unix contrary to what most people think. Only that most commands that work in Unix also work in Linux. Linux is open source and has several distributions. It comes in both graphical and line user interface. The line user interface is preferred by most professionals in the linux world as it is very powerful. But this does not mean that Linux is designed to be used only by professionals. In fact there are several versions of Unix that are as user-friendly and as easy to install as Windows.

The main concepts that you need to be aware of and understand about Linux before starting with it are:

The root of Linux is the highest level folder where the Linux operating system is installed. There is also a root user, which is the highest level user. The roots of a user account is the home folder for that user.

Linux is case-sensitive, so in the Linux world a folder named “TEST” is different from folder “Test”, while in Windows these are the same.

Linux is available in two versions – Server version (line user interface)and Desktop version (graphical interface). Linux is much more powerful and robust than windows and is thus very well-suited for Server deployments. Linux based servers can run on and on for days without requiring a re-boot and no performance issues are generally noticed.

You must have heard the term “Linux hosting” used commonly around the web. It is nothing but a hosting service that uses an underlying server with Linus operating system. Linux shared hosting is the most popular web hosting type that webmasters depend on for hosting their websites. Linux is not only reliable and secure but also offers complete control and ease of use. It is based on LAMP configuration – Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP/Perl/Python.

For new webmasters who are just stepping into the online world and thinking about creating a website, the choice between linux and windows web hosting can be confusing. The best way to make this choice is based on how you plan to build your website. If you want to use WordPress or other web apps or dreamweaver etc. for creating your website, linux hosting is the way to go. But in case you wish to make use of ASP and ASP.NET, then you need to pick up Windows hosting server. There are several good linux shared web hosts available in the market today. In fact some of them offer dirt cheap hosting plans. But one should always look for quality and reliability of service. Discounts on initial pries can be easily obtained using the coupons that these companies provide. We recommend Bluehost, GoDaddy and Siteground. Most of the shared hosting plans that these providers offer are linux based. Media Temple offers very high performance and quality Linux and Windows servers. Siteground has best cloud based linux hosting plans.